Tomato passata

You will need:

• A large, stainless steel cooking saucepan, for blanching the raw tomatoes.
• A colander to strain them.
• A mouli mill to press the tomatoes and separate the ‘meat’ from the peel OR a Spremi Pomodoro, a hand-operated device designed for this purpose.
• Wooden spoon.
• Funnel.
• A stockpot (or large saucepan) for the preserving of the bottles OR a Fowlers Vacola preserving unit.
• Bottles or jars of varying sizes, intact and with clean, non-pitted lids. Make sure they are very clean (though no need to sterilise them).
• Tomatoes – Roma or plum-style tomatoes work best but any home grown tomatoes can be used. Approx 1kg of Roma tomatoes should yield a 720ml passata bottle.
• Basil (optional).

mouli mill	Spremi Pomodoro

 
You can buy any of the equipment above at Costante Imports, located at 377-379 Bell Street, Preston.

Method

Making the sauce

Wash the Roma style tomatoes thoroughly and individually core the tops off each, cutting away any yellow unripe parts or rotten bits.

In the stainless steel saucepan, boil sufficient water to come to half the volume of the pot. Place your tomatoes in carefully and let the water come back to the boil. (You may need to do several batches if you have too many tomatoes). Allow to boil gently for 2-3 minutes and then scoop the tomatoes out and leave them to strain in the colander.

Leave them to cool slightly to make them easier to handle.

Put them through the mouli mill or spremi-pomodoro to strain all of the pulp from the seeds and the flesh. If using a spremi-pomodoro, take the separated skins and seeds and process them once again through the device. (You can process the skins and seeds at least twice to get more pulp from them).

Stir the resulting sauce thoroughly to get an even consistency.

Bottle the sauce, adding a leaf or two of washed basil in each jar.

Wipe any sauce off the jar rims and cap tightly.

Preserving the sauce

Place a thick tea-towel on the bottom and the sides of the stockpot and place the filled jars in, so they are tightly packed. If not, you will need to pack some cardboard (or more tea towels) between the jars so tht they don’t knock against each other. If you can fit in more than one layer, put a cushioning barrier between the layers of jars.

Fill the stockpot with cool or lukewarm water and bring SLOWLY to just below the boil.

Once at a gentle simmer, keep it at temperature for 20-30 minutes and then turn off the heat.

Allow to cool in this preserving pot and then (usually the next day) remove and store in a cool, dark, dry place.

Use this passata when making your favourite (usually meat-flavoured) pasta sauce or as the tomato base on a pizza topping.

Author

Maria Ciavarella
Donvale